World War II US D-Day invasion tank unearthed in France

An American tank that formed part of the 1944 D-Day invasion force was discovered buried under a street in northern France.

Bomb disposal experts examined the WWII US tank before it was exhumed in northern FrancePhoto: AFP

6:46PM BST 04 Jun 2008

French bomb disposal experts were brought in to ensure the military vehicle posed no danger before it was dug out from its muddy grave in near perfect condition.

Council workers came across the M5 tank as they carried out routine repairs to the road in Chartres, 55 miles south-west of Paris.

It is thought the tank from the 31st Tank Battalion formed part of the invasion force that liberated France from the Nazis more than six decades ago.

Residents recalled the tank entering the cathedral city where it had been carrying out reconnaissance when it either ran out of fuel or broke down.

When France was liberated it was pushed down a hole and buried, one resident said.

Several battle tanks from the world wars have been unearthed in France. Ten years ago a British tank used in the First World War was found by archaeologists in a vegetable patch in Flesquieres, a French town near the Belgian border.

The 27-ton machine, British Mark 4, had been abandoned during the November 1917 Battle of Cambrai.